Lord: Starting from the Pit-Dwelling Courtyard

Fengshou Town.

Ron looked at the four experimental crops planted in the four experimental fields. They were all new plants grafted from native plants of the Blackthorn Wasteland.

In fact, Tang En grafted more than twenty kinds of plants, but only the four in front of him actually survived.

Tang En squatted on the edge of the field, holding a palm-sized record board in his hand, which was densely covered with observation data from the past month.

The four experimental crops were planted in four experimental plots lined with volcanic ash lime mortar. Each plot was only about ten square meters, but each seedling was individually numbered, recorded, and compared.

Ron stood beside him, his gaze already sweeping back and forth between the four fields.

"My lord, let me introduce you." Tang En stood up and pointed to the first experimental field.

The first crop covered the entire wooden frame of the experimental field.

The vines branched out from the rhizomes of the ground yam, and the leaves were smaller and denser than those of the ground yam. The undersides of the leaves were covered with a layer of extremely fine white down, which shimmered with a silvery-gray luster in the morning light.

This is the product of grafting ground yam and wasteland vine, and Tang En named it "vine yam".

It inherits the drought-resistant and fast-growing characteristics of ground yam, and can creep like wild vine. It has only just begun to grow and has not yet flowered, so it is unknown whether it can bear fruit. Although it is not yet certain whether it can produce crops, it has the advantage of not needing cliffs. It only needs to build a few wooden frames, and the vines can climb up the frames. It can also be planted on flat ground.

Tang En wrote the following note on the record board: It is suitable for sandy soil, the vines can fix the sand, and it is suitable for large-scale promotion in the newly reclaimed area outside the south wall.

The second crop grows short and close to the ground, with stems only half a foot tall, and round, thick leaves with a pale purple border around the edges.

Ron squatted down and parted the leaves with his hands. From a distance, it looked like a pile of weeds. This was a hybrid of ground yam and sea buckthorn bean. Since its usefulness was not yet determined, Tang En simply called it the No. 1 experimental bean crop.

Sea buckthorn beans are another crop in the wasteland. The beans produced are about 5-6mm in size, and the yield is less than 100 jin per mu, so it is not worth planting on a large scale.

Tang En's notes are: It has low soil requirements, is more drought-resistant, and has a longer growth cycle than other experimental subjects.

The leaves of the third crop are covered with a fine layer of salt frost, which gleams like white frost in the sunlight.

Ron rubbed his finger on the leaf, his fingertip picking up a layer of extremely fine white powder, and tasted it on his tongue.

It's salty, but not salty, with a slightly bitter and astringent taste.

Tang En explained that this was a hybrid of ground rock potato and wasteland gray quinoa, which he named "Salt Quinoa".

It can grow in saline-alkali soil, and the salt frost secreted by its leaves can be used to extract coarse salt. The dried stems can be burned into ash and used as fertilizer.

In his notes, Tang En wrote: "Trial planting in the saline-alkali land of the east is a win-win situation."

Ron stared in shock and disbelief at the crops before him. This was a world of swords and magic, yet such miraculous crops could still be produced.

The fourth crop has very deep roots and straight stems, with clusters of spike-like inflorescences at the top, each spike densely packed with dozens of tiny seeds.

The seeds are smaller than wheat grains but much larger than those of yam seeds. They are dark brown and have a firm, granular texture when pinched between the fingers.

This is the result of a distant hybridization between ground yam and wild thorn grass, which Tang En called "thorn grass".

The seeds can be ground into powder and added to dark bread to increase its gluten content, while the stems are high-quality forage.

In his notes, Tang En wrote: "It has extremely strong drought resistance and its root system can reach a depth of two meters, making it the first choice for soil stabilization and sand prevention."

Tang En closed the recorder, his tone filled with a suppressed excitement, "My lord, they are all treasures."

Ron squatted on the edge of the field, looking incredulously at the four crops he had successfully cultivated, each of which could play a vital role in the wasteland.

"My lord, the grafting technique you created is simply divine! This time, with the Earth Rock Potato grafting, apart from the first two aspects which are still uncertain, the latter two will improve the soil quality of the territory's farmland. Combined with magic fertilizer and green manure rotation, in three to five years, the newly reclaimed area outside the south wall of the territory is expected to be restored to the level of second-class farmland."

In mainland China, farmland is divided into three grades. Grade one farmland is considered fertile land, and planting crops there can increase yields by at least 20% to 30%.

In the kingdom, fertile fields were almost always the core property of noble lords.

Second-class farmland is the same as standard farmland, and the basic yield of crops is mainly based on second-class farmland.

The farmland cultivated by tenant farmers was mainly second-class farmland.

Third-class farmland has only three-quarters the fertility of standard farmland, and some even have only two-thirds. These are mostly private plots granted by lords to their knight followers.

Ron couldn't help but feel excited.

"I'm here today to accelerate the ripening of these crops and see the final results. You need to quickly determine the habits and planting methods of these crops. After this, we can start large-scale planting in the territory."

Tang En smiled and nodded, then shook his head.

"My lord, I understand your meaning, but with only these few acres of experimental land, this seed can only grow one acre at most. Even if we continue grafting and cultivation, we can only add one acre at most each month. Grafting and cultivation is much more difficult than direct planting."

Ron was immediately doused with cold water, but he still managed a smile.

"I was too impatient."

After Ron finished speaking, he began to accelerate the ripening of the crops.

The first plant to ripen is the vine potato. The vine potato grows rapidly, slowly flowers, and then begins to produce fruit.

The fruit is a tuber the size of a baby's fist, with a skin that is the distinctive purplish-red color of the ground yam, but it is more slender and elongated, like a string of sweet potatoes hanging on a vine.

That's right, it's a sweet potato, almost identical to the sweet potatoes Ron knew on Earth in his previous life, compared to the environment before him.

This is the newly grafted sweet potato that appeared in the air in the previous life.

"Assess production!" Ron said immediately.

Tang En carried a wooden box and went into the field to pick the fruit himself. He carefully picked each fruit, put them into the box, and counted them.

Ron sensed the magic power; ripening sweet potatoes in an area of ​​over ten square meters required one hundred units of magic power, which was still acceptable.

If planted in a magic farm, the effect might be even better, and the magic consumption would be less.

"It seems that after this, we'll have to build a two-acre magical farm in Harvest Town." After saying that, Ron walked towards the first experimental bean crop.

Following the same process, the last experimental bean crop almost died, and he didn't see any fruit appear.

"As expected, it failed." Tang En shook his head upon seeing this.

This was already within his expectations, but seeing it with his own eyes still left him somewhat disappointed.

Ron also squatted down to inspect the ground, lifting up the withered leaves and seeing seven or eight thumb-sized pods swollen from the roots. The pods were buried in the sand, and a few had squeezed out of the sand because they were ripe, otherwise Ron would not have noticed them. He quickly dug them out, the skin still covered with fine sand.

Once the pod is opened, there are two light yellow beans inside. When you crush them with your fingers, oily juice seeps out.

Ron used the analytical calligraphy, then widened his eyes and burst into laughter.